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Mitt Romney
70th Governor of Massachusetts
In office
January 2, 2003 – January 4, 2007
LieutenantKerry Healey
Preceded byJane M. Swift (acting)
Succeeded byDeval Patrick
Personal details
Born (1947-03-12) March 12, 1947 (age 77)
Detroit, Michigan
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
SpouseAnn Romney
Children5
Alma materBrigham Young University, Harvard University

Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12 1947) is an American businessman and politician from the state of Michigan and later Massachusetts. Formerly the 70th Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Romney is currently seeking the Republican nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election.

Romney is a former CEO of Bain & Company, a management consulting firm, and the co-founder of Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm. After a life in business and as the CEO of the 2002 Winter Olympics, Romney was elected as Massachusetts Governor in 2002. Romney served one term and did not seek re-election in 2006; his term expired January 4, 2007.

Early life and education

Mitt Romney is the son of former Michigan Governor and 1968 presidential candidate George W. Romney, and 1970 U.S. Senate candidate Lenore Romney. He was named "Willard" after hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott, his father's best friend. Mitt, his middle name, comes from his father's cousin Milton, who played quarterback for the Chicago Bears from 1925 to 1929. Mitt Romney has three older siblings: Lynn Romney Keenan, Jane Romney Robinson, and G. Scott Romney. He has been involved in politics from an early age, having joined his father in pro-civil rights marches.

Mitt Romney graduated from the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 1965. After attending Stanford University for two quarters, Romney served in France for 30 months as a missionary for LDS Church. In June 1968, Romney was involved in a serious car accident while driving fellow missionaries in southern France. Another vehicle hit Romney's car head on; the fault for the accident, which left one person dead, has been attributed to the driver of the other vehicle.

After his mission service, Romney attended Brigham Young University, where he graduated as valedictorian, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in 1971. In 1975, Romney graduated from a joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration program coordinated between Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. He graduated cum laude from the law school and was named a Baker Scholar for graduating in the top five percent of his business school class.

Religious background

Mitt Romney is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), more commonly known as Mormons. His great-great-grandfather, Parley P. Pratt, was among the first leaders of that religion in the early 19th century. Mitt's wife Ann converted to Mormonism before they were married in 1969. In addition to his missionary work in France, Romney has served as a part-time lay minister, called a bishop, and has also been a stake president in his church. As part of his religious upbringing, Romney abstains from alcohol and smoking.

Romney is a proponent of monogamous, heterosexual marriage. Plural marriage or polygamy was at one time practiced by the LDS Church, but the practice was renounced by the Church in 1890. Romney's paternal great-grandparents practiced plural marriage, and fled to Mexico in 1884 in order to maintain the marriages without fear of legal retaliation. His maternal lineage, as well as all grandparents, were monogamous. Mitt's father, George, was born in Mexico in 1907, and was brought to the United States in 1912 by Mitt's grandparents.

Business career

After graduation, Romney went to work for the Boston Consulting Group, where he had interned during the summer of 1974. From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a vice president of Bain & Company, Inc., another management consulting firm based in Boston. In 1984, Romney left Bain & Company to co-found a spin-off private equity investment firm, Bain Capital. During the 14 years he headed the company, Bain Capital's average annual internal rate of return on realized investments was 113 percent, making money primarily through leveraged buyouts. He invested in or bought many well-known companies such as Staples, Brookstone, Domino's, Sealy Corporation and Sports Authority.

In 1990, Romney was asked to return to Bain & Company, which was facing financial collapse. As CEO, Romney managed an effort to restructure the firm's employee stock-ownership plan, real-estate deals and bank loans, while increasing fiscal transparency. Within a year, he had led Bain & Company through a highly successful turnaround and returned the firm to profitability without layoffs or partner defections.

Romney left Bain Capital in 1998 to head the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing Committee. He and his wife have a net worth of between 190 and 250 million USD.

CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee

Romney served as president and CEO of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games held in Salt Lake City. In 1999, the event was running $379 million short of its revenue benchmarks. Plans were being made to scale back the games in order to compensate for the fiscal crisis. The Games were also damaged by allegations of bribery involving top officials, including then Salt Lake Olympic Committee (SLOC) President and CEO Frank Joklik. Joklik and SLOC vice president Dave Johnson were forced to resign.

On February 11, 1999, Romney was hired as the new president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. Romney revamped the organization's leadership and policies, reduced budgets and boosted fundraising. He also worked to ensure the safety of the Games following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 by coordinating a $300 million security budget. Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million, not counting the $224.5 million in security costs contributed by outside sources.

Romney contributed $1 million to the Olympics, and donated the $825,000 salary he earned as President and CEO to charity. He wrote a book about his experience called Turnaround.

Massachusetts political campaigns

Campaign for United States Senate, 1994 election

Main article: United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1994

In 1994, Romney won the Massachusetts Republican Party's nomination for U.S. Senate after defeating businessman John Lakian in the primary. In 1970, Romney's mother had run for the U.S. Senate from Michigan. Some early polls showed Romney close to Senator Ted Kennedy. One Boston Herald/WCVB-TV poll taken after the September 20, 1994 primary showed Romney ahead 44 percent to 42 percent, within the poll's sampling margin of error. Kennedy, who typically faced only "token" GOP opposition for his senate seat was more vulnerable than usual in 1994, in part because of the unpopularity of the Democratic Congress as a whole and also because this was Kennedy's first election since the William Kennedy Smith trial in Florida, in which Ted Kennedy had taken some public relations hits regarding his character. President Bill Clinton traveled to Massachusetts to campaign for Kennedy.

After Romney touted his business credentials and his record at creating jobs within his company, Kennedy ran campaign ads showing an Indiana company bought out by Romney's firm, Bain Capital, and interviews with its union workers who had been fired and criticized Romney for the loss of their jobs, one saying, "I don’t think Romney is creating jobs because he took every one of them away." Although both Kennedy and Romney supported the abortion rights established under Roe v. Wade, Kennedy accused Romney of being "multiple choice" on the issue, rather than "pro choice." Romney is now pro-life and opposes Roe. According to figures in The Almanac of American Politics 1996, which relies on official campaign finance reports, Romney spent over $7 million of his own money, with Kennedy spending more than $10 million from his campaign fund, mostly in the last weeks of the campaign (this was the second-most expensive race of the 1994 election cycle, after the Dianne Feinstein vs. Michael Huffington Senate race in California). Kennedy won the election with 58 percent of the vote to Romney's 41 percent, the smallest margin in Kennedy's nine elections to the Senate through 2006.

Campaign for Governor, 2002 election

Main article: Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2002

In 2002, Republican Lieutenant Governor Jane Swift was expected to campaign for the governor's office. Swift had served as acting governor after Republican Governor Paul Cellucci resigned upon being appointed U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Swift was viewed as an unpopular executive, and her administration was plagued by political missteps and personal scandals. Many Republicans viewed her as a liability and considered her unable to win a general election against a Democrat. Prominent GOP activists campaigned to persuade Romney to run for governor. One poll taken at this time showed that Republicans favored Romney over Swift by more than 50 percentage points. Swift decided not to seek her party's nomination.

Massachusetts Democratic Party officials claimed that Romney was ineligible to run for governor, citing residency issues. The Massachusetts Constitution requires seven consecutive years of residency prior to a run for office. Romney claimed residency in Utah from 1999 to 2002, during his time as president of the Salt Lake City Olympic Committee. In 1999 he listed himself as a part-time Massachusetts resident. The Massachusetts Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission, which eventually ruled that Romney was eligible to run for office. The ruling was not challenged in court.

Supporters of Romney hailed his business record, especially his success with the 2002 Olympics, as that of one who would be able to bring a new era of efficiency into Massachusetts politics. Romney contributed $6.3 million to his own campaign during the election, at the time a state record. Romney was elected Governor in November 2002 with 50 percent of the vote over Democratic candidate Shannon O'Brien, who received 45 percent of the vote.

Governor of Massachusetts, 2003–2007

Main article: Governorship of Mitt Romney

Romney was sworn in as the 70th governor of Massachusetts on January 2, 2003. Upon entering office, Romney faced a projected $3 billion deficit, but a previously enacted $1.3 billion capital gains tax increase and $500 million in unanticipated federal grants decreased the deficit to $1.2 billion. Through a combination of spending cuts and lower taxes, and removal of tax loopholes, the State had a $700 million surplus by 2006. Romney supported raising various fees by $500 million per year, including raising fees for driver's licenses, marriage licenses, and gun licenses. Romney increased the state gasoline tax by 2 cents per gallon, generating about $60 million per year in additional tax revenue. Romney also closed tax loopholes that brought in another $181 million from businesses over the next two years; The state legislature with Romney's support also cut spending by $1.6 billion, including $700 million in reductions in state aid to cities and towns. The cuts also included a $140 million reduction in state funding for higher education, which led state-run colleges and universities to increase tuition by 63%. Romney sought additional cuts in his last year as Massachusetts governor by vetoing nearly 250 items in the state budget. All of those vetoes were overturned by the legislature.

According to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, the state and local tax burden in Massachusetts increased from 10 percent to 10.6 percent of per capita income during Romney's governorship.

On April 12, 2006, Romney signed the Massachusetts health reform law which requires nearly all Massachusetts residents to buy health insurance coverage or else face a substantial penalty in the form of an additional income tax assessment. The bill also establishes means-tested state subsidies for people who do not have adequate employer insurance and who make below an income threshold, by using funds previously designated to compensate for the health costs of the uninsured. He vetoed 8 sections of the health care legislation, including an employer assessment and provisions providing health coverage to senior and disabled legal immigrants not eligible for federal Medicaid. The legislature overrode all eight vetoes. Romney's communications director Eric Fehrnstrom responded saying "These differences with the Legislature are not essential to the goal of getting everyone covered with insurance."

At the beginning of his governorship, Romney opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions. Faced with the dilemma of choosing between same-sex marriage or civil unions after the November 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision legalizing same-sex marriages (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health), Romney reluctantly backed a state constitutional amendment in February 2004 that would have banned same-sex marriage but still allow civil unions, viewing it as the only feasible way to ban same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. In May 2004 Romney instructed town clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but citing a 1913 law that barred out-of-state residents from getting married in Massachusetts if their union would be illegal in their home state, no marriage licenses were to be issued to out-of-state same-sex couples not planning to move to Massachusetts. In June 2005, Romney abandoned his support for the compromise amendment, stating that the amendment confused voters who oppose both same-sex marriage and civil unions. Instead, Romney endorsed a petition effort led by the Coalition for Marriage & Family that would have banned same-sex marriage and made no provisions for civil unions. In 2006 he urged the U.S. Senate to vote in favor of the Marriage Protection Amendment.

On December 14, 2005, Romney announced that he would not seek re-election for a second term as governor. Romney left office with a favorability rating of 43%. Romney filed papers to establish a formal exploratory presidential campaign committee the next to last day in office as governor. Romney's term ended January 4, 2007.

Campaign for United States President, 2008 election

Template:Future election candidate

Main article: Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2008
File:MittRomney08.gif
2008 presidential campaign logo

Since the 2004 Republican National Convention, Romney had been discussed as a potential 2008 presidential candidate. On January 3 2007, two days before he stepped down as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission. On February 13, 2007 Romney formally announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination for president.

In August 2007, Romney won the Ames, Iowa, straw poll with 31% of the vote. His closest rival in the Straw Poll, Mike Huckabee, received 18% of the total vote. Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and the then-unofficial candidate Fred Thompson, did not attend. Romney also won the Illinois Straw Poll with 40.35% of the vote, with Fred Thompson coming in 2nd with 19.96% of the total vote.

Romney has been criticized for comparing his sons' campaign service to service in the military. Said Romney, "one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping to get me elected.” Neither Romney nor any of his five sons has served in the military. Romney later apologized and said he misspoke and that there is no comparison to the sacrifice that military persons make.

Romney at a parade in Milford, New Hampshire; September 3, 2007

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, one of his main Republican rivals, compared him to Democrat John Kerry, in reply to a Romney comment about involving lawyers in national security decisions. Romney's tone on gay rights has been viewed by some as fluctuating, though he supported Bill Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy" in 1994, and continued to do so in 2007. Like Kerry, Mitt Romney is financing much of his campaign with his own personal fortune, contributing over $17 million to the campaign.

Religion has played a major role in the 2008 presidential campaign, with polls indicating that a quarter of Republican voters are "less likely" to vote for a presidential candidate who is Mormon. Among other criticisms, some evangelical voters view the LDS Church as a cult. However, some social conservatives and evangelicals criticize Romney for not being "Mormon enough", regarding social policy. He has avoided speaking publicly about specific church doctrines, and has pointed out that the U.S. Constitution prohibits religious tests for public office. Declining to discuss details about his religion also reduces the risk that doctrinal differences will alienate evangelical Christian voters. Instead, Romney has addressed religion in general, saying that as president he would "need the prayers of the people of all faiths," and that he would "serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest. A president must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States."

Political positions

Main article: Political positions of Mitt Romney

Some of Mitt Romney's political positions have changed over the course of his political career. He says he believes that he has learned from experience, and that people can rely on him to keep his campaign promises. As a candidate for the Republican nomination for President, Romney has increasingly expressed views in line with traditional conservatives on social issues.

Romney was filmed attending a Planned Parenthood fundraiser in 1994, and has made many pro-choice comments in the past, but he now says that he has reversed his position and is pro-life. Romney says that he believes that Roe v. Wade should be overturned, that "abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother," and that "states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate." As a candidate for office in Massachusetts, Romney claimed to hold liberal or moderate views on abortion; he explains his changing views as a process of evolution, contending that he has gradually come to agree with the conservative position on abortion. Critics of Romney are less flattering and portray him as an opportunist. For example, Democratic U.S. Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts once said, "The real Romney is clearly an extraordinarily ambitious man with no perceivable political principle whatsoever. He is the most intellectually dishonest human being in the history of politics," to which a Romney spokesman replied that "We’ve never really paid much attention to what Barney Frank is saying, and we see no reason to start now."

Romney has been a strong supporter of some gun control legislation, backing the Brady Bill, a five-day waiting period on gun sales, and a ban on certain assault weapons, and he still backs the ban on assault weapons. Romney has also supported some legislation that was endorsed by the National Rifle Association and the Gun Owners' Action League. Romney believes that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, rather than merely protecting a right of states.

As a candidate for governor in 2002, Romney said: "Call me old fashioned, but I don't support gay marriage nor do I support civil union." During that 2002 campaign, he also supported hate crimes legislation and opposed discrimination against gays, while supporting some partner benefits for gays, and he also opposed amending the state constitution to codify only traditional marriage because he believed the draft amendment would have outlawed other partner benefits. When the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of legalized same-sex marriage in 2003, Romney lobbied for a state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage but allow civil unions. Romney explained in 2005: "From day one I've opposed the move for same-sex marriage and its equivalent, civil unions....I am only supporting civil unions if gay marriage is the alternative." Romney continues to oppose both marriage and civil unions between people of the same sex.

Romney supported the invasion of Iraq, and supports the "troop surge." Upon hearing the testimony of David Petraeus, Romney reemphasized his agreement with current policy in Iraq and has called for a "Surge of Support" for the military. Romney has called for increased military spending to at least 4 percent of the United States GDP and wishes to increase the size of the military by at least 100,000 troops.

Romney has focused on tax relief for "middle income Americans," and has advocated eliminating the capital gains tax for all those who earn less than $200,000 per year. Romney has also advocated eliminating the estate tax, signed a pledge to oppose "any and all efforts" to increase income taxes, and promises to control spending by Congress.

Romney welcomes increased legal immigration and supports giving "a biometrically-enabled and tamperproof card to non-citizens and ... a national database for non-citizens" in order to reduce illegal immigration.

Romney supports the death penalty, charter schools, and sentencing under the three strikes law. Romney opposes the use of "torture"; however, he supports the limited use of "enhanced interrogation techniques," which he believes are not torture.

Personal life

Soon after his return from missionary work in France, Romney married high school girlfriend Ann Davies on March 21, 1969. They have five sons, born between 1970 and 1981, and eleven grandchildren.

Mitt and Ann Romney have two homes, one in suburban Boston and the other by Wolfeboro. Ann was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998, which Mitt calls the worst day in his life, but she is in remission and is active in his presidential campaign. He is a jogger, and likes Roy Orbison’s music. As for his dislikes, they include “eggplant, in any shape or form.”

Electoral history

  • 2002 Race for Governor, Massachusetts
  • 1994 Race for U.S. Senate, Massachusetts
    • Edward Kennedy (D) (incumbent), 58%
    • Mitt Romney (R), 41%
    • Lauraleigh Dozier (L), 0.7%
    • William Ferguson, 0.2%

See also

Mitt Romney
Politics


Business
Olympics
Bibliography
Family

References

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  84. "Highlights: Mitt Romney on 'FOX News Sunday'". FoxNews. 2007-08-12. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
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  86. Michael Luo (2007-09-08). "Romney's Tone on Gay Rights Is Seen as Shift". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-24. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  87. John Solomon (2007-02-19). "Romney Supports 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-01. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help).
  88. "Mitt Romney's campaign finances". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  89. ^ Linda Feldmann (2007-12-11). "Romney moves to allay Mormon concerns directly". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2008-01-01. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  90. Scott Keeter and Gregory Smith (2007-12-04). "How the Public Perceives Romney, Mormons". The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Retrieved 2008-01-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  91. Linda Wertheimer (2007-11-15). "Romney Faces Questions over Faith in S. Carolina". NPR. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  92. ^ Daniel Nasaw (2007-12-06). "'He hasn't been Mormon enough'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-01-01. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  93. George Bennett (2007-12-06). "GOP choices leave social conservatives fragmented". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2008-01-01. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  94. Hope Yen. "Romney: I'll Keep Campaign Promises", Associated Press (2007-12-16).
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  97. "Romney Attended Planned Parenthood Fundraiser in 1994". ABC News. 2007-12-18.
  98. http://www.mittromney.com/Issue-Watch/Values
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  100. "Mitt Romney says he opposes abortion". MSNBC. 2007-02-07.
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  102. "Congressman Frank blasts the 'real Romney'". Boston Herald. 2007-06-11.
  103. Scott Helman Romney retreats on gun control, Boston Globe (2007-01-14).
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  106. ^ "Romney's stance on civil unions draws fire". Boston Globe. 2005-02-23.
  107. Rick Klein. “Group promises aid for amendment foes”, Boston Globe (2004-02-11): “Romney opposed that amendment as a gubernatorial candidate in 2002. At the time, Romney said he felt the amendment went too far because it would have outlawed domestic-partner benefits for gay couples, as well as gay marriage, and said he would vote against it.”
  108. "Romney's Tone on Gay Rights Is Seen as Shift". New York Times. 2007-09-08.
  109. Lorentzen, Amy (July 27, 2007). "Romney:U.S. is angry about Iraq". American Spectator. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  110. https://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/Iraq_Statement_1_10_07 Press release from official Mitt Romney website
  111. http://mittromney.com/News/In-The-News/Defense_Energy_Research_Spending
  112. "Mitt Romney Iowa Straw Poll Speech". CSPAN. 2007-11-08.
  113. "Romney rolls through business plan in hopes of winning Iowa". Boston Globe. 2007-08-10. {{cite news}}: Text "http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/08/10/romney_rolls_through_business_plan_in_hopes_of_winning_iowa/" ignored (help)
  114. Helman, Scott (2007-01-05). "Romney finds 'no new taxes' promise suits him after all". Boston Globe.
  115. http://www.mittromney.com/Issues/immigration
  116. Lewis, Raphael (April 29, 2005). "Romney files death penalty bill". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  117. Sacchetti, Maria (February 1, 2005). "Romney plan would greatly boost charter schools". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  118. "Mitt Romney on crime". OnTheIssues. , 1994. Retrieved 2007-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  119. "Mitt Romney Iowa Straw Poll Speech". CSPAN. 2007-11-08.
  120. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8NKiz18k4o
  121. "Mitt Talks About Ann", Excerpts from November 2006 speech. Mittromney.com. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  122. Neil Swidey and Stephanie Ebbert, "The Making of Mitt Romney: Raising sons, rising expectations bring unexpected turns", The Boston Globe, 2007-06-27. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  123. Jose Antonio Vargas (2007-06-09). "Romney brothers dish on Dad". Washington Post. p. A01. Retrieved 2007-11-24. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  124. Faye Fiore, "Does perfection have its price for Romney?” Los Angeles Times (2007-11-24).
  125. Ann Sanner and Calvin Woodward, “Candidates Get Personal”, Associated Press (2007-12-20).

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